Matt M. | 00:00:00:03 | Welcome to the Neighborhood Realtor podcast. With me, your host, Matt Muscat. This is a podcast for real estate industry professionals who are doers. Each episode will feature an interview with a top producer or someone who is doing things differently in an exciting way. For those who already know me or have read my books or blogs, my brand of marketing is tangible and repeatable.
Matt M. | 00:00:19:11 | Because smart salespeople don't need to reinvent the wheel. My promise to you is that in each episode you'll leave with one tangible idea that you can take to the bank.
Matt M. | 00:00:28:14 | Hey, everybody, I just wanted to announce that we are doing a quick bonus episode of the Neighborhood Realtor podcast. I was on another call a couple of weeks ago and met an agent in Texas, San Antonio, Monica Britto. Is that how you set Monica Brito?
Monica B. | 00:00:44:04 | Brito, either one.
Matt M. | 00:00:45:01 | Brito Brito sounds fancier. Maybe you're selling more expensive houses. And she had a couple ideas that I thought were fascinating that I thought everybody would want to know. So I promise this will be a short, quick episode chock full of a useful tip that I think everyone can have some fun with. So Monica, just to get started, you've been in real estate and mortgages for four years.
Matt M. | 00:01:03:20 | And you came from an interior design staging, reflecting background. And this strategy that you told me that I got excited for is something that you're doing that your clients get a lot of enjoyment off of. And what I most love about your strategy isn't just that it works, and it can help your clients add extra value to them, but also get you business.
Matt M. | 00:01:25:21 | I love that you found a way to take your passions outside of real estate and use that to make your job more fun, but also to add value to your clients and get our business so. Monica, welcome to the show and tell us everything about the strategy.
Monica B. | 00:01:39:15 | Yeah. Thank you so much. So prior to real estate, I worked in retail, but before that I actually grew up in a household that we owned antique stores. So as a kid and teenager, I was dragged along to auctions and thrift stores and all kinds of other things. And I really learned how to buy and resell, especially furniture.
Monica B. | 00:02:03:22 | So with that being said, I became an avid thrifter and when I started selling real estate, what I realized is houses sometimes needed a little bit more love and attention at least. And not everybody is into decorating, right? So, you know, you're just your house is to live in. You're not going to worry about it. Looking Map magazine more than most of the time.
Monica B. | 00:02:25:16 | So I found a way to very affordably for the client go ahead and take what they had and add to it. Or if I had a vacant property I could buy, furnish furniture and then end up reselling it for a profit so that it wouldn't cost my client anything.
Matt M. | 00:02:44:10 | So, by the way, I have to, like, pause you right there because I want the gravity of this to sink in. So Monica is offering free staging services for any of the clients that that choose to work with her. Some of them choose work with her because of the. But in addition to that, aside from her time, she's not putting a ton of money into this because she's buying the furniture and typically selling it for what she paid for it or a profit.
Matt M. | 00:03:08:02 | So not only is this something that you're doing that's getting people to work with you, but it's adding value to them, selling their homes for more money and you're making extra money off of it. I mean, that sounds like a win situation all around.
Monica B. | 00:03:23:01 | Totally. You know, and along with that, like I said, just having a background in interior design, I've been able to do things to their house that are very affordable upgrades. People don't know the extent of just putting cabinet hardware on your home, how much that would look like an upgrade and a designer finish two people and they're able to actually, you know, monetize on that.
Monica B. | 00:03:48:03 | So a quick $50 upgrade could really add thousands of dollars to their home.
Matt M. | 00:03:54:00 | When I say what I love about this right now and the reason I wanted to have you on in today's market is because we are now starting to see homes sit on the market for a week. Right. So usually in previous years, maybe on the market for a day now they're on the market for a week. People are losing their minds.
Matt M. | 00:04:07:15 | But these are the types of strategies that people that agents were using ten years ago that people forgot about. Right. Like all this knowledge has been forgotten about and you're bringing it back, which I love. So things like cabinet fixtures, changing those out adds a ton of value and also adds a lot of appeal. What other things are you seeing?
Matt M. | 00:04:25:23 | Are you doing the properties that are getting more clicks on those photos online? Because I know sometimes it's not even about getting the property sold, it's just getting people into the house to see it. What what easy and affordable tips and tricks can you give agents to to do to these houses that won't cost them and are like.
Monica B. | 00:04:41:23 | Yeah, oh, I can't stress the value of making sure that the home looks clean and organized. When you get your professional photographer into that house, you need to be there before and make sure that things are put away that the counters look pretty clear. Obviously just putting strategic things in place in the home because you want the photos to look gorgeous.
Matt M. | 00:05:07:22 | I love that. So aside from kitchen, from the hardware, what are some of the bigger furniture items that you want to make sure really match the house? What are some of the the other big items that agents should be thinking about finding replacements for or sprucing up or, you know, rearranging?
Monica B. | 00:05:25:14 | Yeah. So to make it simple for people, I try to keep the larger items in place. So I do try to work around the larger items, if at all possible. Now, if a client has a torn sofa or something that can't be covered easily, then I want to replace that larger piece. Same thing goes with the bed. That's not the easiest thing to move around.
Monica B. | 00:05:45:05 | So if an agent wants to do this affordably, I would focus on the accessories and the smaller pieces of furniture. So these are things like coffee tables changing out the pillows, adding throws, changing out the bedding, side tables, things like that will really help. Maxim amazed what you can put into the home and you can find these things very affordably.
Monica B. | 00:06:09:20 | If you're not a thrifter because not everybody is, you can go to some of the discount stores such as TJ Max, and you can find these things affordably. And as a realtor, I probably would say to keep kind of like a stockpile of these items, maybe in an additional closet to help be able to utilize these on multiple listings.
Matt M. | 00:06:30:21 | I love that. I mean, investing in your business is such a huge thing, but so few people have done this because in years past it wasn't it wasn't necessary to sell a house. And now we're starting to see the market shift a little bit. Going that extra mile and making houses shine not only becomes something that will help your clients, but it's also something that you can then talk about and uses ammunition to sell yourself the next time you go to interview for that listing.
Matt M. | 00:06:55:06 | So, Monica, I love these tips and I love that you're doing this and making it work for you. If if people out there are listening and have a referral that they want to send to you in San Antonio, Texas, how could they get a hold of you?
Monica B. | 00:07:08:16 | So I'm on all social media platforms at simply how slow it's probably the easiest way. Just send me a DM and I love chatting on social media.
Matt M. | 00:07:17:04 | Awesome. Will everybody, please? Thanks, Monica. A ton on social media. Send her a message and send her a referral. Right now we're all looking for business and I hope we can all put some deals together. Thanks for listening, everybody. And if you liked this episode, please leave a review on the podcast store.
Matt M. | 00:07:33:24 | Thanks for listening and a huge thank you to our sponsors. Neighborhood Loans and Treadstone Mortgage with offices around the U.S.. Their loan officers offer a realtor centric focus personal communication from real humans, plus on time closings that, frankly, are faster than most of the mortgage companies want to be connected to. Gridlock. Message me, your host, for more information and I will connect you with a loan officer in your neighborhood.
Matt M. | 00:07:57:07 | One more marketing tips. Check out my book on Amazon. Tag the tangible action Guide for Real Estate Marketing. And finally, if you want to support the show and hear even better guests, leave this review on the podcast platform for US Economy.